Give us a hand: NASA's 'Robo-Glove' will help factory workers have an Iron Man grip

NASA has released a new 'space glove' which will help astronauts - and factory-workers - handle heavy objects comfortably and for longer.

The gloves were developed as part of General Motor's partnership with NASA to create Robonaut 2, the first humanoid robot to be launched into space.

The robot went up to the International Space Station last year, but handily the gloves will find a place on GM's shop floors, where a factory operator might need to apply only five to 10 pounds of force to lift a 20-pound weight.

The Human Grasp Assist, based on the robotic hand NASA's Robonaut 2, is designed to allow the wearer to hold a grip longer and more comfortably

Space man: The Robonaut 2 in Houston, who went to space last year to work on the IIS

The gloves, first prototyped in March 2011, weigh about a pound each and contain electronics, motors and a small display.

Officially, these are called the Human Grasp Assist device, but the team have affectionately labelled them Robo-Glove for short.

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When engineers, researchers and scientists from GM and NASA began collaborating on the robot, one of the design requirements was for the robot to operate tools designed for humans, alongside astronauts in outer space and factory workers on Earth.

The team achieved used leading-edge sensors, actuators (motors) and tendons comparable to the nerves, muscles and tendons in a hand.

In doing so, they realised that there was no reason that a robot should be the only one to benefit from their findings.

Handy: The glove, still in prototype stage, is expected to be used in space and applied to manufacturing plant use on Earth

Dana Komin, GM’s manufacturing engineering director, added: 'When fully developed, the Robo-Glove has the potential to reduce the amount of force that an autoworker would need to exert when operating a tool for an extended time or with repetitive motions.'

Example of the glove in use might be an astronaut working in a pressurised suit outside the space station or an assembly operator in a factory needing to use 15- to 20 pounds of force to hold a tool during an operation.

With the robotic glove, the factory operator might need to apply only five to 10 pounds of force.

An off-the-shelf lithium-ion power-tool battery with a belt-clip is used to power the system and a third-generation prototype, that will use repackaged components to reduce the size and weight of the system, is nearing completion.